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Okay, so I’ve been a little absent this week. Some of it is for personal reasons, and some is because… well… its hard to get motivation after a loss. Either way I should know better. I should know that one loss in the first game of the season doesn’t mean shut everything down. It doesn’t mean we don’t still have a excellent chance to go all the way and it doesn’t mean we don’t have a great team.

At the beginning of the week someone tried to tell me that the defense didn’t look very hot. I stopped him mid-sentence… Are you freaking kidding me? That defense looked great. They kept us in the game until the very end. While holding Washington to only two field goals isn’t a feat of genius it still is pretty damn good in a rivalry game such as Cowboys at Redskins.

Either way, I felt that a few underrated defensive stars really deserved some love. Due to my absence this week, I’m playing catch up and releasing five graphics for Cowboy fans to enjoy.

Coaches and fans got their first look at the 2010 Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night against a highly touted Cincinnati Bengals club that many are predicting to be a Super Bowl contender this season. The Boys had an impressive showing for a preseason game, not allowing Cincinnati to score until the late 4th quarter. However, there were also some loose ends the Cowboys need to tie up before they take the field against Washington in the season opener. Let’s play a game of “Who’s hot, who’s not” to summarize the first preseason game.

Who’s Hot

*Tight end John Phillips. He took advantage of the absence of Martellus Bennett and showed great all-around ability throughout the night. He had a couple of superb catches, and also showed his blocking ability on several occasions. With Bennett’s problems of late, I would not be at all surprised to see Phillips get more playing time than Bennett when the season starts.

*Defensive end Stephen Bowen. He also took advantage of the absence of a fellow teammate (Marcus Spears), and was a force along the defensive line all night. He was constantly in the backfield and recorded a sack before his night came to an end. With Bowen, Spears, and Jason Hatcher all playing on one-year tenders, I expect the competition to continue between the three.

*Offensive tackle Doug Free. Though he only played one series, Free looked very comfortable at left tackle, and had his way with Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom in both passing and running situations. Free definitely looks to have a leg up on Alex Barron in securing the starting left tackle spot. It will be interesting to see how he performs the rest of the preseason against pass rushers like Shawne Merriman and Mario Williams.

*Backup linebackers. A solid night on defense was topped off by the impressive play of players like Brandon Williams, Victor Butler, Jason Williams, Steve Octavien, and Brandon Sharpe. Jason Williams, Butler, and Octavien all showed their ability to get to the quarterback with a sack each. Brandon Williams and Sharpe showed their abilities in coverage with an interception each, Sharpe’s going for the only touchdown of the evening for the Cowboys. The Williams boys and Butler are showing flashes of the abilities the Cowboys saw in each of them when they drafted all three last year. Keep an eye on the ‘backers again in the next preseason game, as Sean Lee should step on the field for the first time and show his skills, too.

Who’s Not

*Offensive lineman Robert Brewster. He looked simply horrendous playing both tackle spots, and gave Stephen McGee no time to throw the ball all night. It is safe to say the intent of the Cowboys to develop Brewster as a tackle has run horribly amok. His footwork is below average and his ability to get out of his stance is poor. If the Cowboys want to avoid missing on yet another offensive line draft pick, they should consider moving Brewster to guard, where his slow feet will be less noticeable.

*Backup running backs. In a virtually impossible battle for a roster spot at running back, Herb Donaldson and Lonyae Miller did nothing to prove they are even worthy of a spot on the practice squad. Donaldson fumbled the ball early, and Miller had less than one yard per carry. With Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice all locks to make the team, Donaldson and Miller will be nothing more than camp bodies for the duration of training camp.

*Return specialists. The return game for the Cowboys was non-existent the entire night, with Titus Ryan, Jamar Wall, Bryan McCann, and Cletis Gordon sharing the duties. Ryan had a decent return to start the game, but left early with a broken thumb. Wall, McCann, and Gordon shared the punt return duties, but none of the three did more than fair catch and flirt with potential disaster when a return was possible. Gordon and McCann were also creamed on one of their returns, McCann’s coming on a terrible non-call in which he clearly called a fair catch.

It saddens me to bring this news to all of you. Our defense has taken what I consider to be a pretty tough blow. Defensive End Marcus Spears is now out 4 – 6 weeks with a sprained MCL. It happened Thursday towards, ONCE AGAIN, the end of a day or practice. It was the last full practice at the Alamodome in San Antonio Tx.

Here is the full story: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=44DB5EFC-CE85-5006-0C9CFC8E4E0D47EB

On a better note, I was fortunate enough to attend the first practice of the season this year at the Alamodome in San Antonio. I took my 7yr old son who had never seen the Cowboys live before. Yes it was only a practice but to hear him scream when Tony Romo ran out onto the field cheering the Cowboys on, made me a VERY proud father.

I am so totally excited about the upcoming season. I have had a very tough offseason but things seem to be coming together for me. Sorry I have not had the chance to post much this off-season. Looking forward to the game Sunday night against the Bengals when the Cowboys start their run to the Super Bowl.

Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips are all smiles at the start of Cowboys Training Camp

I skimmed through all the different beat writer reports from today’s Cowboys Training Camp, and summarized all of the information for you.

Training Camp Player Valuations – In terms of talking about players after practice, Phillips doesn’t like to do it. He feels he needs to see some practice tape before talking about how well a player did or how bad a player did. Phillips said it gives him a chance to give better answers to questions.

“You may see a player do something real good in practice and the rest of the plays didn’t play well,” Phillips said. “Like a guy in a game, you think he played well, and he didn’t play well at all.”

Ain’t That A Kick In The Pants – The coach made a note that David Buehler isn’t the only placekicker on the roster. Delbert Alvarado is also a kicker but hardly gets mentioned because after the team released Connor Hughes, it was assumed Buehler had no competition. Even Buehler said he’s competing against himself.

“Alvarado did well, and that’s why we kept him in the spring,” Phillips said.

Safety First – Does Pat Watkins have a shot to become the starting free safety over Alan Ball? Phillips said he does and that there is competition at almost every position. However, Phillips would like to see Watkins, who is a strong special teams player, be more consistent on defense. Watkins did have a nice breakup of a long pass Saturday.

He Ain’t All That – *Dez Bryant, the rookie wide receiver, was impressive in his first practice. Phillips said it’s not the best debut he ever saw.

“I don’t know if he looked any better than Steve Largent when he came in,” Phillips said. “Cris Carter when he came in, I’ve seen some pretty good ones.”

Not To Be Nosy, But – *Marcus Spears is still the starting defensive end, but he will get some snaps at nose tackle during training camp. The Cowboys did some of this last year with him. Phillips doesn’t believe it’s the start of something long term for Spears.

“I would be comfortable with him playing there,” Phillips said of Spears at the nose. “He’s a smart player and he’s a good run player already, and normally nose guard is a run-player position. [Jay] Ratliff has taken it to a different level; you don’t see nose guards getting six and eight and ten sacks. But I think Spears can fill that role as a run player and I think he’ll do a good job there.”

We Kneed You Man – *Linebacker Keith Brooking might miss the second practice Sunday. He’s fine, but Cowboys want to bring him along slowly because he had minor knee surgery in the offseason. Brooking looked pretty good Saturday knocking down a pass and moving around pretty good.

MartyB TV Off The Air – Wade Phillips said he does not expect Martellus Bennett to miss much practice time in training camp with the sprained left ankle he suffered last week while working out. The Cowboys placed Bennett on the non-football injury list because he did not suffer the injury while under the Cowboys’ care.

As any Cowboys fan knows, the dog days of offseason are long and boring. Nearly every day you seek any news or rumors about your team and rarely come up with anything. Today I spent time with family and had a lazy day and what do you know, the Cowboys go and make a little rumble.

I know at least a handful of people who will be happy to hear this news…

The Cowboys have released Cory Procter. The 27-year old backup offensive lineman has been with in Dallas since 2005, though didn’t debut in the NFL until 2007. He only started in 13 career games, 11 of those in 2008 while filling in for the injured Kyle Kosier. How dare they break up the band, eh, who needs offensive line depth anyway?

In other news, Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton both missed OTAs on Monday. Hurd was on scene but out while recovering from offseason thumb surgery. Crayton is still demanding a trade, but no one seems to be interested. Have you Hurd Crayton wants out of the big D?

Marcus Spears also missed the practice because of a scheduling conflict according to several sources. Whatever that means?

Keith Brooking, Stephen Hodge and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah are all recovering from surgeries while Sean Lissemore and Scott Sicko are finishing up at college. Yes, okay they are excusable.

These workouts are voluntary but Coach Phillips made a good point saying… “Your competitors at your position are all here.” Okay so he’s no philosopher but you understand what he’s saying.

You can argue either way, veterans can miss the practices because they know the drills but at the same time the new guys, younger guys are there practicing, busting ass to steal your place on the roster. Practice makes perfect!

With the deadline coming up in eight days, the Cowboys still have several players yet to sign their tenders. Several are unhappy and the rest have been very quiet.

Gerald Sensabaugh for example decided not to participate in the first offseason conditioning program this week. According to his agent he is not under contract but has been training six days a week on his own.

Marcus Spears and Steve Octavien signed their tenders yesterday. Cory Procter was the first to sign the tender back in March, which actually makes perfect sense.

I expect the remaining unsigned players will jump on board soon. I believe Miles Austin knows he will get his money eventually and hopefully it will all work out smoothly.

Interestingly enough, Alan Ball hasn’t signed his exclusive rights tender and with the release of Ken Hamlin he could be more essential than ever before.

Its been a slow and silent offseason regarding free agency and the Dallas Cowboys. With our rivals signing big names we have remained very conservative to say the least. Maybe that’s because we already have the players we need for a championship team. After the draft, hopefully we will have a few eager rookies who will complete this team that not only were the division champs, but also won their first playoff game in 12 years.

NOTE: We will update this post as the players continue to sign in the days to come.

UPDATE (4-7-10): Pat McQuistan has signed his tender.

UPDATE (4-8-10): Jason Hatcher and Junior Siavii have signed their tender.

Today is a big day for the Cowboys as they must tender offers to their 13 restricted free agents by the 11:00 pm CST deadline tonight.

You can be sure that both wide receiver Miles Austin and safety Gerald Sensabaugh will both receive high tenders from the Cowboys and that neither will be going anywhere.

Clarence E. Hill of the Star-Telegram speculates that Austin will receive the highest tender possible — a one-year salary of $3.168 million and compensation of a first- and third-round pick if he signs with another team.

Sensabaugh will likely be tagged with the first-round tender of $2.62 million. If he signs with another team, the Cowboys would get a first-round pick in return.

Of those eleven, I suspect that 3-4 of them may not be returning next season including Suisham and Gordon.

I was very surprised when the Cowboys decided not to place the franchise tag on Miles Austin last week which would have paid him a guaranteed one-year, $9.52 million deal that would’ve required another team to give up two first-round picks as compensation for signing him to a non-matching offer sheet.

I was a little worried that we might be exposing Miles Austin to a slight risk of employment elsewhere if another team should beat the Cowboys tender, but felt more at ease after reading this in the Dallas Morning News.

Not many teams in league history have been willing to relinquish a first- and third-round pick for a restricted free agent. Almost none, in fact. In 1998, Bill Parcells brought restricted running back Curtis Martin with him from the Patriots to the Jets. The Patriots were unwilling to match the Jets’ six-year, $36 million offer sheet and took a first- and third-rounder in return. Eighteen players received the high tender over the next 10 years. None were pried away by a rival’s offer sheet.

Marcus Spears, Steven Bowen and Jason Hatcher are all becoming free agents this year. To lose them all would be a heck of a blow to a very stout D-line. Marcus Dixon , a two year practice squad vet who recently signed a reserve/futures contract, is the only valid backup. To understand what could happen with the free agents this year, you must first look at the compensation and salaries to be earned.

Four years of experience

Original pick compensation: $1.176 million

Second round tender: $1.759 million

First round tender: $2.521 million

First and third tender: $3.168 million

Five years of NFL experience

Original pick compensation: $1.226 million

Second round tender: $1.809 million

First round tender: $2.621 million

First and third round tender: $3.268 million

I believe it would be naive to think the Cowboys would simply ignore Spears and let him test the waters. The five year experience original pick compensation tender makes the most sense, since it would ensure the Cowboys a first round pick should someone sign him away and keep his salary relatively low. I know it’s a no-cap year, but Jerry most likely will be spending a little extra cash on eliminating a certain safety or o-lineman’s (or two) contract(s). I’m not naming names. You figure it out.

As for Hatcher and Bowen, I think that Bowen will receive a contract. Original pick compensation goes out the window for Bowen since he was a rookie free agent acquisition. Since Hatcher was a third round pick in ’06, it would make sense to stick the four year original draft pick compensation tender on him and let him walk for a third round pick from a team that needs 3-4 Defensive End help. Believe me, there are quite a few. A second round tender might be pushing it and Dallas might end up stuck with a higher paying contract than Spears. (Not Smart)

Letting Hatcher walk for a third round pick would give Dallas more ammo in the draft and also would allow Dixon to take his next step in the pros. I doubt he would last another year on the practice squad. It’s do or die time for him.

Olshansky remains under a very friendly contract and should remain in place at least for the next couple of years. I think we would all agree he did very well this year replacing Canty.

As we close the book on the game with the Cincinnati Bengals and a 31-22 victory yesterday, I can sum this game up by saying, “complacent, somewhat lethargic, and often just down right sloppy”. I don’t know if the Cowboys were still “hung over” from the loss to the Redskins or not, but this team is experiencing some mental issues right now that I am not sure a good “shrink” would have the answers. They have lost “that killer instinct”!!

When the Cowboys jumped out to an early 17-0 lead, I felt the game was going just as planned against a Bengals team the boys were supposed to beat easily. Suddenly it seemed the Cowboys let their foot off the gas and began to coast. Before they could speed up again, it was 14 minutes to go in the game and the Cowboy’s lead had shrunk to 17-16. It was only then that Marcus Spears forced a Chris Perry fumble and the Cowboys’ came back to life. Romo connected with T.O. on a 57 yd touchdown pass and the game seemed to be in hand.

I was happy to see the running game return with MB3 and Felix Jones, and the defense played very well. I was very disappointed we lacked intensity in other areas i.e. special teams and QB play.

I became extremely concerned in the third quarter with Tony Romo as I think everyone in Texas Stadium could sense he had gotten so down on himself that it really affected his play and mentally he had taken himself completely out of the game. I just think Tony is “beating himself up” over his turnover situation so far this season to the point it is actually affecting the way he releases the ball. I felt yesterday that at times he was almost unsure about throwing the ball in fear he will throw another interception. That was not the normal Romo that is usually all smiles and loving to play the game as he finished with a very uncharacteristic season low of 14-23 for 176 yds and three touchdowns.

Possibly we can look upon this victory and the lack of intensity by the Cowboys was due to playing the 0-4 Bengals? What concerns me though is if that is the case, the Cowboys have to get back to the basics again.

To play on words; “When you have a wounded animal backed into a corner like the Bengals were, you have to go in for the kill.” The Cowboys have a relatively difficult test Sunday on the road against the Cardinals and then two games that would seem to be easy tests against the Rams in St. Louis and Tampa Bay at home. These games are a chance to gain back that momentum. A momentum and they must have in 4 weeks when they travel to the Meadowlands for their first match up with the “G-men”.

I am in no way down our team or feel that this team is not still the best in the NFL. I think they just need to do some soul searching and come back to that determination and intensity that they had at the beginning of the season. They need to get back that “killer instinct”!!!

2. St Louis Rams – OT Jake Long – Michigan – SR 6’7335 lbs. (With all the problems on the offensive line for the Rams, they would be dummy’s for letting Long get passed them, for he can be the anchor of that O-line for the next 10 years.)

3. Atlanta Falcons – QB Matt Ryan – Boston College – SR 6’4228 lbs. (With Falcon fans still reeling from the Michael Vick saga, QB is the biggest need for this organization. Playing QB Roulette last year with has-beens as well didn’t help the cause.)

4. Dallas Cowboys (*Via trade with the Oakland Raiders) – RB Darren McFadden – Arkansas – JR 6’1211 lbs. (Jerry Jones stated in the off-season that he wanted to add that wow factor to his offense and with his close ties and alliance with Al Davis, this was a no-brainer. McFadden & Barber will be ravaging defenses for the next 5 years.)

5. Kansas City Chiefs – DT Glenn Dorsey – LSU – SR 6’1 310 lbs. (The Chiefs have pressing needs in many areas but D-Line is one of the biggest.)

6. New York Jets – DT Sedrick Ellis – USC – SR 6’0309 lbs. (The Jets had absolutely no pass rush in 2007. Selecting Ellis not only makes sense but the guy can dominate the inside forcing teams who use a ground game to go vertical more often than they want.)

7. New England Patriots – DE Vernon Gholston – Ohio State – SR 6’4255lbs. (With New England getting a taste of the blitz happy New York Giants in Super Bowl 42, the aging Patriots LB Core could use a shot of the fountain of youth and return the favor to opposing offenses in 2008.)

10. New Orleans Saints – CB Aqib Talib – Kansas – JR 6’2205 lbs. (The Saints should be not only ecstatic but should be counting their blessings that Talib fell this far. Talib immediately starts and helps a defense that gave up the big play way too often in 2007.)

14. Chicago Bears – QB Joe Flacco – Delaware (1AA)- SR 6’6231 lbs. (With all the problems the Bears have had in past few years at QB, Flacco immediately comes in and give Grossman a run for his money. Flacco displayed the best and strongest arm at the NFL Combine.)

16. Arizona Cardinals – CB Mike Jenkins – South Florida – SR 5’11200 lbs. (Rated as the best cover corner in many draft boards, Jenkins will make an impact early and often in the Cardinal’s secondary.)

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – WR Mario Manningham – Michigan – JR 6’0188 lbs. (With the Bucs offense lacking a complimentary receiver to Joey Galloway in 2007, teams doubled him in the latter part of the season. Manningham will provide Galloway much needed relief and could eventually replace him.)

21. Washington Redskins – FS Kenny Phillips – Miami – JR 6’2210 lbs. ( With the tragic loss of Sean Taylor, the redskins will once again have one of the best one two punch at safety in the NFL with Phillips and Landry.)

24. Tennessee Titans – WR James Hardy – Indiana – JR 6’6220 lbs. (Having the best size of any receiver in the draft, Hardy will provide the possession receiver that Vince Young has sorely missed since his Texas days.)

25. Seattle Seahawks – TE Dustin Keller – Purdue – SR 6’3244 lbs. (Seattle has never had a great pass catching TE and Keller has been the most consistent pass catching TE in college football in the past 2 years. Need anything more?)

26. Jacksonville Jaguars – RB Felix Jones – Arkansas – JR 5’10210 lbs. (Even though RB Fred Taylor was voted to his first Pro bowl, he isn’t getting any younger. The Jaguars going to the 2 back system will add some burst to Taylor’s legs in the latter part of the season.)

29. San Francisco 49ers (*via trade with Colts) – WR Devin Thomas – Michigan State – JR 6’2220 lbs. (With the 49ers lacking any star receivers, Thomas is the best receiver left on the board. He is tall and can run the deep pattern.)

Hey Cowboy fans, it’s me Fredooch bringing you your update for the week and my personal feelings when it comes to all things Dallas Cowboys. First of all let me say I couldn’t of be prouder to be on this staff than if I were a staff member on DallasCowboys.com. We have a great bunch of writers and staffers here and all I can say, and I can’t say it enough, thanks Kelly for making me part of this thing here on LoneStarStruck.com. Its both and honor and a pleasure.

Ok now onto the Dallas Cowboys Rumor mill:

*Rumors out of Miami and Detroit have all three franchises talking trade come draft day. Rumor out of Miami has it that Bill Parcells still thinks the world of OLB Bobby Carpenter (believe it or not) and that Carpenter will be shipped out to Miami come draft day for a 3rd rounder. Rumor out of Detroit has WR Roy Williams coming to Dallas for DT Marcus Spears and the 28th pick of the NFL Draft.

According to sources close to Dallas WR Terry Glenn, he will bypass having microfracture surgery on his injured knee to play one final year in the NFL. He hopes it’s with Dallas. If he is cut or released, he will retire.

Julius Jones, according to some sources wants to be a feature back in the NFL and has his eyes on either the Atlanta Falcons or Carolina Panthers.

The Dallas Cowboys are actively trying to lock-up RB Marion Barber III and DE Chris Canty to 5 year deals and both will be signed in the next couple of weeks. Expect Canty to sign a deal similar to the one Jay Ratliff signed during the season, maybe a little more expensive.

Jerry Jones is still EXTREMELY DISSAPOINTED about the loss to New York. Sources say that Jerry Jones wasn’t even able to watch the NFC Championship game this past week. EXPECT Jerry to sign a BIG-TIME free-agent this off-season on the defensive side of the ball. I say it’s going to be CB Marcus Trufant or CB Ashante Samuel. If it happens, remember where you heard it first. Everybody said that the Cowboys would never sign Deion Sanders because he was too expensive. Well guess what? Jerry got creative, which I believe he is the best in the business at, and signed Deion.

Now for my Dallas Cowboys ranting. I was a little disturbed last week by something DT Marcus Spears said after the Cowboys loss to the Giants in the post-game interview. I don’t know if any of you caught that interview but Spears basically said in a nut shell that some players on the Cowboys side didn’t give 100 %, including him, which is why they lost. Now, I know what you’re saying. He was just being hard on himself. NO! When Spears said this, he said it so nonchalantly. Like oh well, we lost, get over it!

The Giants wanted it more than we did. I don’t know if this attitude is the reason the Cowboys are actively “shopping” Spears but considering all things, I do hope we get rid of this guy if this is his way of thinking. It’s easy for me to sit here and criticize a guy but when your making more money than Police Officers and Fire Fighters make in 10 years, you bet your two cents you’re going to get criticized, especially by me.

If God had granted me the athletic ability of a Marcus Spears or a Roy Williams, yes our Roy Williams, and I was making millions of dollars a year to play a child’s game, then I would give everything I had on every play and leave everything on the field. If we lost, then I could go to sleep at night knowing fully well that I left everything on that field that Sunday afternoon. And when I retired, the only thing I would want to be remembered for by my peers is that every time they faced me, they feared me and knew they always got 200% from me.

I remembered I once was watching this NFL films program on Hall Of Fame lineman from either the Steelers or 49ers of the 70’s or 80’s I don’t recall and they asked him who the best player they ever faced across from them was. I remember this guy saying, and don’t quote me word for word here, “Oh man, that’s easy. It’s without a doubt Randy White. That guy was a Beast. He had this clock that would never stop ticking and whenever I faced him I was physically and emotionally drained. You always got 100 % from that guy. They called him the Manster. He literally was half man and half monster.” Of course Randy White was an All-Pro and Hall of Famer and a 1st Round Pick.

My point is that if everyone on this team gave everything they had two weeks ago, we would be talking Cowboys vs. Patriots Superbowl. But it wasn’t meant to be. I am not saying that Marcus Spears is a horrible player but he has not lived up to the billing of being a 1st round draft pick. Bobby Carpenter hasn’t either but at least Spears has been given the opportunity. So I will leave it at that Cowboy fans. Well that’s all for now kiddies and remember, see you next Sunday. Same Cowboys time! Same Cowboys place! Same Cowboys channel!